Second deeps on

Yesterday was pretty nice--a little overcast, but warm enough. I decided to put the second deeps on all the hives. They seemed ready, with only the middle hive in the field looking a bit thin. I wonder if there has been drifting?

The hive in Max's yard moved happily into the drawn comb in that deep. They have plenty of foragers coming and going. I should probably check that middle hive more thoroughly, make sure there isn't a problem.

I find I like the propolis traps that are substituting for inner covers. No bees on the cover, and I can open a hive and look at the top bars without bees flying out--minimal disturbance for a quick look. Maybe I'll start using them everywhere.

One thing that amazes me: I take off the cover and hold my hand over the proplis trap and feel the warmth. The hive is warm, really warm on the inside. Not that I haven't read that, but still, it's just plain amazing to think of them generating that heat to keep the brood warm.

When I combined the queenless hive with the one in the backyard, I didn't do any of the usual stuff: no smoke, no spray, no newspaper. I just pulled the frames with bees from the failed colony and put them in the strong hive. No apparent problems have surfaced--no fighting on the board, no pile of dead bees outside. They are cleaning out the drone larvae from those frames, though, and I've seen a few of the tiny drones, raised in worker-sized cells, dead outside. On the whole, it should give that hive a boost, more drawn comb and a few more workers, though they must be pretty long in the tooth by now.